Interception
by KusmiTea
Summary: After the Inception job, the team is reunited to do an easy Extraction. Except for the fact that the mark's son discovers everything, transforming this job in a huge snowball. What if Arthur doesn't want Ariadne in it?
1. Chapter 1

**I'm sorry for the late! **

**This is the rewritten one, so I hope you like it!**

**Oh yes, I'm not a native english speaker, and because of that my english is not perfect.**

**I do not own Inception. Mr. Nolan does.**

**Love, **

**Isadora**

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**Chapter 1 – First day, first screw up.**

He heard a thin and high-pitched sound, some kind of instrumental music, but was far away. He changed his position.

Again, that annoying sound started, but he opened his sleepy eyes and found only darkness. Arthur couldn't see anything, not even his own hand.

That music started again, entering his ears, and making it impossible to ignore.

He rolled over his bed and found his cell phone, the only light in the room.

"Hello?" his voice was hoarse, his eyes adjusting to the darkness.

"Arthur?" a familiar voice said.

After three months not seeing each other, Arthur was eager to hear his friend's voice. This could only mean one thing, which made his bones rattle with excitement.

"Yes?"

"We've got a job. Be in the warehouse in one hour. I already called the others, except for Ariadne..."

"I'll tell her."

"Thanks." Cobb murmured before hanging up.

Arthur groaned, shutting his phone and tossing it on the carpeted ground, where it fell with a muted thud. He looked at his clock standing near his bed, the green light showed 5 AM.

A dim light came from his window, colouring everything with a golden glimmer.

His apartment was one of the old buildings that still existed. From the outside the building looked ordinary and even ugly, because of the antique edges and worn out iron balconies, which only made the inside more impacting. Arthur invested his sum from Fischer's Inception to transform every inch of it. Now, the kitchen was divided from the living room only by a bar counter, where his guests could enjoy a drink or just talk while he made the meal.

At the far end of the apartment, three doors were displayed. Two of them were bedrooms, one with a queen-size bed and a suite and the other with a single one. The guest bathroom was the third door.

The basic colour was white, the colour of luxury. White marbled floor, white walls and windows. White comfortable sofas and chairs, with only the feet in black. But it wasn't a cold place, not like a hospital. Arthur had splashed some primary brightness here and there; a Spanish rug in the center of the room, red and orange cushions laid lazily on the couch, silver and onyx sculptures contrasted with the walls.

He searched for his three-piece suit, opening several drawers, before finding dark grey trousers and a waistcoat, and an immaculate white shirt. Everything was nicely folded and clean, thankfully because of Louise: an enchanting maid that was also an old friend. She came each day to polish and wash, leaving his home with the delightful smell of soap.

The Point Man entered his suite, only to find a man looking at him. His eyes were fierce and dark-brown, without showing a single emotion, totally blank. The mirror showed the lazy part of him, his dishevelled hair and his unshaven beard, like a dark shadow on his chin. He grabbed a comb and started fixing his appearance.

Moving to Paris was showing to be his best decision everyday. He loved the sophisticated air and the rich culture of the "City of Lights", the intricate details of the buildings and the cafés standing right in the middle of the sidewalks. But the best of it was that he could keep one eye on the Architect, know how she was coping after her first job.

Arthur didn't want to call her, because he didn't want her to be involved with this. It was too dangerous and was too fragile, young, and innocent. Ariadne wasn't supposed to find out how hard and evil the world could be to the youngest, crowded with people thirsty for money and revenge. She had told him that she moved to Paris and started her architecture course to put some beauty in the world. She lived in a modern fairytale and he didn't want to be the mean stepmother.

Arthur looked at his watch and realized that he was running late.

He locked the door and started running, not calling Ariadne.

* * *

Arthur was the only one on the street, he could hear his own footsteps, pressing against the stones of the ground. The sun could be seen behind the charming edifices, its long and warm rays were already brighter than when he left his apartment. It was going to be a hot summer day.

He turned the corner and saw the old warehouse, the beige colour fading in some places. And yet, despite all the aging, you could feel the opulent air that oozed from it. Where, in the old days, it was probably a grand house from a wealthy family, just like most of the Parisian houses.

Without bothering to knock on the door, he entered the room. The musty smell pierced his nostrils, like a sharp knife, mixed with with a strange feeling of safety that overwhelmed him. The inside of the warehouse was the same way as they had left: papers scattered in the corner, two tables at opposite sides and five different chairs facing each other. There was only a new rustic wooden table on the left part of the large room, where three men were gathered looking over a file – the mark's file.

"Good morning." Arthur said.

The small group turned to look at him, leaving the mass of papers alone. Cobb had a rare smile on his face, which made him look a few years younger, but it faded when he looked over Arthur's shoulder and didn't see Ariadne coming.

"Where's our adorable architect ?" Eames asked with a raised brow, before the Point Man could grab the creamy coloured-clipped folder.

Arthur was expecting this question. He could see the plot unfolding just like a novel.

"She didn't want to do it. Not anymore."

"Did she say why?" Cobb murmured with a hint of suspicion in his tone, his blue eyes were squinted, reading every reaction.

"She said that it was too dangerous and she didn't want to be part of something so... illegal," He added with his famous poker face. "And... well, I kinda get it. She was starting to lose hold on reality."

Cobb nodded resentfully, but he couldn't help the feeling of guilt filling his body, like water being poured in an empty glass. He was the one who introduced her to the Dream world, who showed her the infinite possibilities of creation. But Eames is somewhat eager.

"How do you know?" His tone of voice light with amusement and expectation.

"We talked, of course."

"Arthur! I didn't know that robots could talk! At least, not with pretty girls! We should show you to some Japanese company, they are always looking for something new."

The Point Man glared at Eames humorlessly, his eyes had a savage glimmer. The Forger chuckled and went to stand at Yusuf's side, who was absorbed in chemical fluids.

"Behave, children," Cobb said, a smile tugging at his mouth, because he knew how annoying Eames could be, but staying with these two men and listening as they mocked each other reminded him of his children with their grandmother. "Well, our mark is Jeremy Carey-Lewis. Married and with one child. He is the owner of the Carey-Lewises Robotic company."

Arthur grabbed the file and started looking at it. Several photos and transcriptions were clipped within the pages. There was a picture of the mark with his family, looking satisfied. Names and addresses passed his sharp vision, his mind taking note of business meetings, favourite places, and bank accounts. But a particular detail caught his attention.

"Wait! His _wife _want us to do the Extraction?" he asked bemused.

"Why the confusion? It's not that we've never done something like that."

Eames' voice was grave with suspicion. The Point Man shrugged, scratching the back of his neck.

"Anyway," Cobb interjected. "His wife wants to know, aparently, some dirty secret, so she can blackmail him to not give his part of the firm to their son."

The always present human greed, reinforced by the non-stop capitalism. She wanted the firm all to herself. They couldn't judge, of course, because it was a job. And dream jobs are really rare, but once they come they receive a lot of money, which isn't something that you can easily deny.

"How much time do we have?" Arthur asked, practical once more.

"Two weeks of preparation," The Extractor answered. "He has a massage appointment every month and stays there for an hour and a half. Plenty of time to do the job."

"How many layers?"

"Two, I guess. Nothing too deep."

_And dangerous. _Cobb added in his mind, the thought of being trapped in his own subconscious still worried him. Even if Mal was already something of the past, there would still be a black spot in his mind, like a lonely alley in a dangerous neighborhood.

"We need a new architect." Eames stated.

Arthur forced his brownish eyes to remain on the file, he fiddled with a turquoise paper clip. If he twitched or his eyes flickered to somewhere else, the Forger could realize that he lied, if he hadn't already.

"Not quite." Arthur's voice was no more than a whisper. "Someone here can be the architect."

He let go of the paper clip and glanced at Cobb with pleading eyes. He didn't want to find any other architect and he didn't want Ariadne to be of it, but couldn't substitute her either.

"I can try." Cobb murmured so low that they had to lean closer to hear him.

"C'mon, Cobb. You always were the architect when we did our Extractions," Eames reminded him. "It's not as if you weren't capable. Your lovely wife isn't disturbing you anymore, is she?"

"No. She is not."

"So, here is our new architect!"

Arthur remained silent, fighting a sigh of relief. Cobb was reliable and it wasn't like replacing that petite woman that had messed with his systematic type of living.

"Cobb," Yusuf was holding a test tube, where a light orange liquid was waving slowly. "I've developed a new compound, in which you can feel whatever happens to you when you are dreaming. Y'know, if you get wet, you can feel and can even guess what is happening around you."

"That's interesting. Can we listen to the music more clearly, then?"

"Yes. That's one of the reasons why I made it, because one old friend of mine was só focused in a dream that he didn't hear the song that I played for him to wake up. When he woke up he was mad that I didn't alert him that the dream was coming to an end." he sighed, lost in long forgotten memories.

"Who do I have to forge?" Eames asked abruptly.

"Nobody, in fact." Arthur's voice was low and distinct, as if he was choosing his words carefully. His long fingers were playing with the edges of the paper, lifting and drumming his nails on it. "But, if you want, you can pretend to be their son, Derek."

The Forger wasn't at ease with this option, it was too dull. He wanted something more lethal, provocative.

"Or, you can be that blond bombshell." Cobb intervened, cocking his head to take a better look at the Englishman.

"Nobody can resist that gorgeous lady." Yusuf, who was quietly mixing his compounds, said.

The Forger, flashing his teeth, moved his head slowly, a plan already forming in his mind. He knew very well that even a married guy couldn't resist his – or her – charms. He could flirt with the mark, only to fool him, and then the team could do the Extraction without worry. Later, he would tell Cobb his ideas, but now he had to work.

"I'll be somewhere else. See you all tomorrow." Eames said halfway to the door. He needed to find some preferences to forge the perfect girl for the dirty job.

With that, he closed the door and walked through the bright French morning. There were a few people on the street, walking swiftly past him; the sun was bright, he could feel his body getting warmer. Eames took off his dark-mustard jacket, undoing two buttons of his magenta shirt. He looked at his silver watch, it was only 8 AM.

He was definetly going to need some coffee.


	2. Chapter 2

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Hello! I wanna thank you, Legal-Assassin-006! You made my day. First review.

**Anyway, this chapter is a little... odd. I wasn't that excited anymore. Hope it'll pass.**

**Enjoy!**

**Love, **

**Isadora**

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**Chapter 2 – Crazy girl around.**

"_Back to the same routine"_, Ariadne thought. She was heading to the park, it was a perfect sunny saturday.

After the job, she had to go back to University, and she hadn't seen anybody yet. She knew that after the Inception they would avoid to see, call or even know where the team was – except for Cobb. Everybody knew where he was. And she was happy for him. He was with his family, who thought that they had lost their daddy.

And she knew that if there was a new job they would call her. Eventually. However, three months had passed and she didn't receive a single note that they were, at least, alive. Ariadne was somehow frustrated. She thought that they cared for her, but apparently that wasn't enough.

Everyday she put her smooth bishop on a table and knocked it. It always to emphasise that that was reality. Boring reality. She missed Dreaming, but most of all, she missed that feeling of 'pure creation'. She could build an entire country, for God sake! And in the real world, she only saw buildings.

But she had never stopped drawing. Her desk was always full of papers, pens and books. She had a huge amount of sketches, impossible places to become real, at least, not in a Dream. She had drawn massive buildings, beautiful squares. Everything with tiny and immeasurable details. Her mind never seemed to stop.

And now the Architect realized that they would never see the Dream light. They would never call her. _"Easy, Ariadne. You must be overreacting"_ she thought. Perhaps they would call. Someday.

She was passing by a cafée when she saw a tall, slender and tanned figure. It was a man. And he was familiar, _very_ familiar.

"Eames!" she yelled. It couldn't be him, could it?

The man turned his head towards her. His lips curved in an appreciative smile.

"Hello, darling."

Ariadne moved forward. That couldn't be true! What was he doing _there_?

"May I...?"

Eames nodded, and she sat down. Her eyes were amused, but had a hint of... confusion? Eames laughed at her expression. Why was she so surprised? He was supposed to be there!

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Good to see you too." he played. Ariadne cocked her head. "We have a job, remember?" he continued.

Her face was pure astonishment. _What the hell was he talking about_? They didn't call her? They didn't want her as an architect anymore?

Before she could say anything, the waitress came with a huge mug of coffee. It smelled delicious and fresh. Coffee meant job. Otherwise he wouldn't drink it. It also meant that he wasn't playing with her. She hoped that he was playing with her. Yes, hoped. Past tense.

The waitress went to attend another costumer.

"What job?" she nearly tripped over the words.

"Have you hit your head recently?" Eames didn't understand it. She knew about the job, Arthur himself asked her. He _said_ that he did. He wouldn't lie, would he?

Ariadne shook her head. And Eames sighed. _Bloody hell_.

"Darling, Arthur didn't call you, did he?"

"No. Nobody called." her voice was grave.

He sighed heavily.

"I knew that rocks couldn't talk! Bloody liar."

"Please, Eames. Enlighten me." she couldn't help her sarcasm. She was pissed.

"Well, we have a new job. An Extraction. Easy thing, I must say." he sipped his coffee. "Our Point Man said that he had called you. And you didn't want the job" she started to open her mouth, but he cut her off. "He said, that you said, that it was too dangerous and that you were starting to loose grab on reality."

She grasped the bishop, always in her pocket. Her nails hurting her skin. It was true, the reality part, kind of. But she definitely didn't think that it was too dangerous. She knew that it was, but she didn't care.

"WHAT? He did what? WHY?" her voice an octave higher.

"I don't know, darling. Ask him."

He had that sly smile plastered on his face. Challenging her.

Ariadne stood up, almost knocking the table down, and started running towards the warehouse. But before she left the cafée she yelled a "thank you" to the Forger. She really meant it.

Eames sipped his coffee once more, laughing slightly. Now, _that_ was going to be fun.

* * *

Ariadne was out of breath, but she wasn't going to stop. She had to arrive in the warehouse the soonest possible. She needed to be their architect. And most of all, she needed to confront Arthur.

_Why the hell he lied? _she thought. Everybody knew that she was maddenly in love with that job. It was exciting, it was new, it was dangerous. She didn't seem to be one girl who like danger, but she was. She loved the thrill of doing something... unorthodox.

Every single person on the street looked at her, almost projection-like, but she didn't care. She didn't give a damn. Ariadne just hold her totem tightly. She wasn't dreaming.

When she was close to the warehouse she started walking. She didn't want to attract attention. But she circled the block just to make sure that nobody was paying attention at her. And then she opened the heavy door and entered the large room.

Once she was in, the three men looked at her with astonished expression. They weren't expecting her at all. They weren't expecting _anyone_. Earnes would only see them tomorrow, he said that.

Her cheeks were pink and she was out of breath, but she continued to walk in Arthur's direction. He was looking directly at her. His face was blank, but his eyes betrayed him. They showed utter confusion. And Ariadne glared at them, without hesitating. He was going to explain to everyone what stupid thought has crossed his mind! He was going down.

Ariadne stayed inches away from him. Both of them could feel the other breath.

"Fuck you!" she snarled. She was furious. She could cut his head off with her teeth.

Sadness crossed his eyes, but he composed himself. Not showing any emotion._ "Of course",_she thought bitter. She felt Cobb and Yusuf glancing at them, their jaws popped open. Arthur's mouth opened but he didn't say a word.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, still angry.

Arthur shrugged. He didn't want to admit why he lied. And it wasn't her business anyway. Well, not exactly.

"Are you in then?" his voice was calm and composed.

Ariadne let out a groan and shook her head. She loved that job, otherwise why she would be there? Arthur could be so annoying sometimes, and she noticed that he didn't explain why he lied. She was mad at she wouldn't let it go.

"Idiot." she murmured and turned away from him. Later.

The Architect hugged Cobb and waved to Yusuf.

"So, Eames told me that it is an Extraction..."

"Yes. An easy one. Arthur got the file, if you want to take a look."

Ariadne glanced at him, her eyes clouded with hatred. Cobb swallowed hard.

"Er, I'll grab it."

Arthur was hurt. Deep inside him, his heart shuddered with her words, he didn't know that she would be that mad. But he lied for her own good, even if he didn't know why. When he heard Cobb coming he handled the file without looking at him. His mind still numb.

The warehouse was quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the traffic. Yusuf was occupied with his compounds and Cobb was helping the Architect with her sketches, his voice was no more than a whisper.

The Extractor was relieved that he didn't need to worry about that anymore. It wasn't as if he was scared, but he already have to think and plan about the extraction. And it required a huge amount of time, even if it was an easy one.

Arthur couldn't help glancing at Ariadne once in a while, but she caught him right on the spot. Their eyes locked and he could only see hatred. This job would be extremely unpleasant if he didn't fix this mess.

His mind started working, planning a way to have a minute with he, alone. However, he heard a soft knock and the door slammed open.

Eames was there, with a wide smile that made him shiver.

_Oh, hell._

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**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, everybody!**

**Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad that you like it! (Even though I thought that that chapter sucked).**

**Anyway, this chapter is not so 'action-scenes', it's more talking. BUT, I promise you that next chapter is going to be the Extraction. HA HA HA.**

**And that's going to be AWESOME. I hope so. HEHE.**

**Enjoy!**

**Love,**

**Isadora**

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**Chapter 3 – Dark night, dark events.**

"Well, well, well. I see that you've talked already ." Eames said amused. His eyes focused in Arthur's reaction. He didn't want to miss a single twitch.

Arthur just shot a menacing glare and turned his back.

"Rock Man, I knew you hadn't the guts to talk to her!"

"Shut up, Earnes." Arthur snorted. He was loosing control. Exactly what the Forger wanted.

Eames was pleased with himself. He knew that something was odd the moment Arthur opened his mouth to say about their lovely Architect.

"So, you didn't talked at all? Or you just 'forgot' to tell her?" his voice light and challenging. He moved closer to their Rock Man and whispered at his ear.

"I bet you don't even thought twice to don't call her, rocky."

And then, Arthur snapped. His left hand flew and punched the Forger's jaw. Before Eames could react, Arthur was throwing another fist at him. But he already expected that. So he shifted his position and stayed behind him, grabbing Arthur's arms and locking it.

"Mr. I'm-so-controlled have emotions, everybody!" he let the Point Man go after he was sure that he wouldn't hit him. "Nice to see you snapping sometimes, darling."

Arthur growled. His mind ached. Why he had snapped? Eames was joking of course, but something in his tone made him angry and well, every joke has some true in it, wasn't that right?

He could see Eames moving slowly to Ariadne's side, and Cobb stepping back. The Extractor didn't want to be involved in this kind of shit. He already had his children after all.

From Eames's view, he could see the architect's ears turn pink and her jaw clench. He came closer.

"Darling, you are almost breaking your pencil" he said, taking the object from her. The sketch was beautiful, but it had some strange forms. Hatred forms.

"Fuck off."

The Englishman was surprised. He never listened that! At least, not from her. His eyes were playful when he lifted her chin, forcing her to look at she pushed his hand away from her. Ariadne's eyes were full of tears.

She tried to take her pencil back, but Eames tossed it away.

"Now now." he said, grabbing her arm and going outside. "You need to spill it out."

"No! I have to finish the maze!"

She struggled to go back, but his grip was too strong. Finally, her tears started falling and she couldn't restrain them. She was mad, tired and hurt. Mad at Arthur. Tired to pretending that she didn't care. And hurt because he didn't say a word.

They stayed still. Ariadne was sobbing and Eames put his arms around her. So, she leaned her head in his chest.

After a few minutes, when she was calm and could find her voice she whispered "I don't want to go anywhere." And the Forger understood, sitting on the sidewalk with her by his side.

"Tell Eames."

"I... Wh..." she didn't know how to start. "I was mean."

Eames nodded and rested his hand on hers.

"But he deserved it." She wasn't sad. She was angry. And she wasn't going to apologise, in fact, _he _was going to beg for her forgiveness.

"No. He was jus..."

"Sorry, Eames. I have to go back." she cut him off. He was protecting Arthur? Ariadne wasn't going to hear another word.

Before she entered the warehouse she wiped her tears away.

Arthur didn't even glance from where he was. He had the mark's file again and was studying it. She didn't want to disturb him, so they were going to talk later.

"Arthur! Ariadne!" Cobb called. He was in the center of a circle of chairs.

The two of them walked silently. Without bothering to look at each other. The tension was palpable. She didn't like it, of course.

Before the Inception, she thought that they were friends, not only colleagues. Arthur helped her, showing ways to trick the projections, new possibilities of buildings. He was there when Mal killed her. He had that smirk when she went back after her first dream, he understood her. And during the Inception they kissed. A brief, light kiss. But still. It had to mean something, hadn't it? The Architect grabbed her bishop harder. She wanted to put it down and knock it, only to hear the soft sound off wood touching the floor. To know that she was in the real world.

"So, the Extraction." Cobb said after they sit. "The mark is very busy, as you can see, and I thought that maybe we could do his office for the first layer and a hotel for the second."

"A hotel? There would be a lot of safes there." Arthur said coldly. He didn't want to make this job harder than it already was.

"Maybe we could make a restaurant. Something formal and calm." Ariadne stopped to think. "A restaurant that he is familiar with, of course."

Cobb thought for a moment or two. His head was full of... surprise. Arthur never snapped, and Ariadne never was that mean. He sighed and prayed that they would get over it for their's and the job's sake.

"Yes. And Eames could use his blond bombshell there. It wouldn't seem too out of place." Cobb agreed.

Both of them nodded.

"Better start to work" Ariadne said, leaving them alone.

After a few minutes, Arthur waved silently and was standing up. But before he could leave, he felt a hand in his wrists.

"Are you alright?" Cobb's voice was soft and sorrow.

"I'm fine."

"Er, so, why did you do that?" he cocked his head to Earnes, standing ten feet away from them.

"I'm tired. That's all."

Cobb knew it better. The Point Man barely slept; he never was tired. The Extractor had one eyebrow raised and a fierce look. Arthur sighed.

"You know how annoying Earnes can be. And he just..." his voice trailed off. "I'm tired." And with that he leaved Cobb alone, going back to his work place, where the file stayed motionless and ready to be read. _"Not tired enough to stop working."_ Dom thought bitter.

* * *

It was dark. The moon was high in the sky and it was beautiful. The stars like milk splattered on a black table-cloth. It wasn't full moon yet, just another few weeks and the night would be perfect.

The warehouse was quiet. Only Cobb, Arthur and Ariadne were still working. Earnes had called a day after a few more jokes about the "Rock Man" - for him, it wasn't Point Man anymore -, and Yusuf took off when the sunset started, he said that he was going to drink something, which nobody believed.

It was almost midnight.

Ariadne yawned and stretched herself, she was really washed out. The Architect got her belongings and waved only to Cobb. She knew that she was being childish, but she didn't care. Arthur noticed it, and started to walk in her direction, following her after she was outside. He had a plan.

"Ariadne. I'll walk you home." he murmured, right at her side.

"I know my way."

"It's almost midnight. I wouldn't like to know that you've been attacked only a few blocks to your place." he was stubborn, but she could be as well.

"I can defend myself. You know that I killed Mal, right?" her voice was even.

"In a Dream." he continued. "In Real world is a little harder."

"Ok. You win. Walk with me then." she threw her hands in the air, in surrender-like position. "But, I've got to do something first." she warned.

Arthur nodded. There was something odd in her voice, like she was embarrassed with what she was saying.

"Will you tell me what you have to do?"

"Hmm. We are almost there anyway." her hands were trembling a little. _What was wrong with her? _He looked over his shoulder, nobody was stalking them. They were the only ones walking.

She turned right and stopped in front of a building. It had two columns in each side of the door, white walls and a marble lion in front of the stairs that led to the massive door. He had seen this place before.

A boy opened the door and smiled at Ariadne. He was tall, mahogany-haired and had deep green eyes. Before Arthur could realize what was happening, the Architect jumped on his arms and kissed him. Not on his cheeks, but on his mouth. It was a passionate kiss, as Arthur could see.

He was staring at them in an awkward way, but he didn't know what to do. That was why she was so weird when they were coming. She knew what she was going to do, and he should have listened her. And now he was hurt. Something inside him ached, as if his heart wasn't large enough to pump his blood through his whole body, as if his long forgotten heart had shrunk.

Ariadne grabbed her boyfriend – he was her boyfriend, right? - and stood looking at Arthur. She was laughing. First quietly, but then louder and louder. The Point Man looked astonished, what was she laughing at?

The boy took a knife from his pocket and before he could stab Arthur he woke up.

Cold sweat running down his temples and he was gasping for air. He looked at his watch, it was 2 AM. The Point Man was alone in the warehouse. All lights were switched off but his. Arthur was lying down on his chair, with his load dice on the ground.

He grabbed his totem and threw it, knowing what number would show up. _"It was only a dream"_he thought fiercely. But it was comforting to see number five gazing at the ceiling.

The Point Man never dreamed. It's been six years since he had his last dream, and now here he was: having a nightmare – that couldn't be called a dream – with Ariadne. That girl who hurt him and made him snap.

He took his stuff and locked the door. Fresh air would make him good, but his nightmare wasn't going to leave him alone that easy.

"_It was only a nightmare". _

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**xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello!**

**Thank you for the reviews/alerts! **

**But, I don't think that this chapter is good enough. I don't know. Maybe it's because I don't know how to write action scenes. Well, you tell me what you think, and feel free to help!**

**Next chapter is going to have some astonishing moments. **

**Enjoy!**

**Love,**

**Isadora**

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**Chapter 4 – Be nice, darling.**

It was a nice afternoon, pleasantly warm and with a sweet breeze. Cobb's thoughts wondered about what happened during the morning.

He went to talk to Olivia Carey-Lewis, the mark's wife, and they talked for nearly two hours.

"How's everything going?" her voice was smooth.

"Alright. We found out that your husband is trained." Arthur hadn't committed the same mistake that happened to Fisher's Inception. Now they knew for sure what was expecting them. "Nothing to worry about." he added after see her frowning.

"Mr. Cobb, I have to ask you something..." Olivia's voice was trembling. But before she asked anything, he already knew the question and its answer. "Could I go with you?"

"No. You couldn't. There's no room for tourists." his mind flashed to Saito, who barely made it. "And you can't be with us during the Extraction, in the same room, I mean."

"But, why?"

"If you were there, you would make your husband alert of something." she started to open her mouth, but he cut her off. "However, you can stay hidden in other room, if you want to be sure that we've done our job properly."

She nodded eager. It's not that she didn't trust them, she just wanted to have the 'material' the soonest possible.

"But, nobody can see you. Not even your son."

"He won't."

And that was his clue to leave.

"Cobb! Cobb!" Ariadne yelled at him. He opened his eyes, it was already dark. He must have fell asleep. "We're going to check the details again."

Yusuf was the only one without the PASIV in his wrist, he said he wouldn't dream again, only if it was extremely necessary. So, they all agreed that he would stay in the massage room monitoring them.

Arthur was the dreamer and he was staying in the first layer. While he, Eames and Ariadne would go to the second layer with the mark. In the second level, Cobb would dream, he wasn't afraid to finding Mal anymore. And Eames had to go, because he was forging the Blondie and Ariadne was the one who knew better the place, and she needed to know what was a real Extraction.

Once they were all ready, Yusuf pressed the button.

The office was amazing. After a little research, Arthur and Eames gave to Ariadne a lot of pictures and plans to help her to do the first layer. It was going to be hard, because the mark stayed most of his time here, working. But now, after seeing this, even Jeremy would believe that this was real. Cobb touched his totem, just to make sure that he was dreaming. He was.

They passed the glass tables, the secretary spot and arrived to theirs place. It was a small conference room, where they would put the mark to Dream, going to the second layer. The team put the silver case on the wooden table. The three of them put the needles in their wrists and waited for Arthur to press the button. But, before he pressed it, he took Ariadne's needle off. They needed to talk.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, trying to grab her needle. They hadn't spoke for two weeks, they only glared to each other. She wasn't mad anymore. She only wanted to talk, to explain to him.

"We must talk." his voice was clear. He rest a finger in her mouth, she just had to listen. "I'm sorry, Ariadne. I shouldn't hav..." his voice cracked and he tried again. "I shouldn't have lied. I just wanted to protect you. Because this world is dangerous."

The Architect took his hand carefully and pressed it with hers. She tried to pretend that this contact wasn't making her shiver of pleasure.

"I know. But, you have to understand that I like danger."

"Ariadne, in this world you can feel pain. And by this I mean a lot of pain." he liked the way that their hands were together. But he looked away, averting her eyes.

"I don't care, Arthur." she sighed. "It's 'pure creation'." Ariadne smiled with her choice of words, she remembered what he had said for her.

The Point Man nodded with a smirk on his face, he felt something, but he didn't know what it was. Then he put the needle in her wrist and she closed her eyes. Now he just needed to wait.

Eames and Cobb were waiting for her. They had a sly smile on their faces.

"Were you nice, darling?" Eames voice was smug.

The Architect snorted and lead them to the other room, where the safe was. She heard Eames soft chuckle. And then the dream collapsed. They were in the warehouse again.

* * *

It was four o'clock and they were all at the massage room. Cobb had seen Olivia in a room before her husband's and nodded, nobody would see her.

Arthur and Eames pretended that they were costumers that were at the same room that Jeremy Carey-Lewis was, while Ariadne was the masseuse. When she was near enough, she injected Yusuf's sedative in the mark's neck. After they all checking the spot, Cobb and Yusuf entered the room. Everything was clear. No problem until now.

They all lied down comfortably, nobody wanted to feel uncomfortable after they woke up. It was going to be a long dream. And then, Yusuf pressed the button and closed the door.

As soon as they arrived in the Dream, Arthur found their mark sitting on his chair. He had a puzzled expression.

"Hello, Mr. Carey-Lewis." he said.

"Hello, Mr..." Jeremy cocked his head.

"Arthur."

"Mr. Arthur, it is. May I ask what are you doing here?" his voice was suspicious._ "Damn it"_ Arthur thought. He wasn't suppose to find out that he was dreaming so soon.

"We're here to a conference." he played, looking around. Any projection was looking at them, yet. "It's about your sponsor. That is, we. California Iron&Co."

Ariadne looked around the room nervously, there wasn't anything out of place. She fiddled with her skirt. Everybody was dressed with formal clothes. Cobb and Eames were in a smart suit and Arthur was in a three-piece one, as usual. While she was in a black, knee-high skirt, with a light-pink blouse and a black jacket.

"I'm sorry. I forgot completely about that. You know how business are..." Jeremy's eyes were shinning, he truly believed that they were at his office. He smiled at the team and waved them to follow him.

Ariadne let out a breath that she didn't remembered to be holding. Relief crossed her features.

"But, allow me a minute, would you? I have to talk something with my... secretary." and then Jeremy waked out of the room.

Eames was looking at his back, watching if he would realize that they were dreaming.

After five minutes Mr. Carey-Lewis step back, his face was pleasant.

"Shall we go then?"

The team nodded and they went through the corridor. They passed the glass tables and the secretary spot, but they turned left, and instead of going to that small conference room, they were in a huge one. With sixteen projections sitting around a marble table.

"Actually, Mr. Jeremy, this is more of a private talk." Eames whispered.

As soon as he said that words, everybody in the room turned at them. Their eyes burning holes at their bodies.

"Why should it? Those are my co-workers, and they need to know what I decide." his voice was surprised. The projections were still staring at them.

"If you want so." Eames shrugged. They would have to improvise then.

They were sitting down when a bullet scraped through Cobb. Jeremy knew.

And chaos began.

All of the projections had a gun at once, pointed to the Point Man, he was the dreamer after all. The guy who was disturbing Jeremy's subconscious. Before a hand could be moved, Ariadne shot a projection, right on the head. Cobb, grabbed the mark and crossed the room shooting everybody that was on their way, while Eames shot the projections that dared to be near Arthur and Ariadne.

"Bloody hell!" he murmured, when a bullet passed near his eyes.

Arthur shoved Ariadne through the door and held her hand, making it impossible for her to move.

"Why did you do that?" Arthur yelled at her. His eyes wide with disbelief.

"I don't know! They would had shot us!" she heard she saying. She was scared. Arthur was crazy if he thought that they could escape that time, when everybody was pointing at him.

Arthur touched his temples and recomposed his expression, there was something odd in his eyes. Like they were excited with something, something that he would do perhaps...

"Go. And don't look back" he said before winking at her.

She blushed hard and a quick moment crossed her head, when they where at the hotel and they kissed. This was so non-Arthur that she had to grasp her totem in her jacket pocket. She nodded and run till find the door of the right conference room. Cobb was already there, and Jeremy was sleeping.

Eames and Arthur were leaving the huge conference room when they heard a glass shatter noise. They looked back only to find three dark figures breaking the windows. They were hanging by a rope, and more were coming. All of them were heavy armed.

The two men get out of there and before leaving, Arthur had the good sense to lock the door. This wasn't going to stop them, but would certainly give more time to Cobb do the Extraction, at least without shots being fired at his head.

When the entire team was inside the room to do the Extraction, they heard a door being broke down. They were coming. But before Arthur pressed the button, he closed the medium-sized windows and prayed that nobody would be small enough to enter through them.

"Good luck" he murmured before they closed their eyes. Gazing directly at Ariadne.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, everybody!**

**Nice to see so many reviews. Oh, and keep reviewing, will you? Thanks for them/story alert/favorite story!**

**This chapter is long. But not SOOO much. **

**What happened to Ariadne? OMG! Read, and give me your opinions.**

**Enjoy!**

**Love, **

**Isadora**

**

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**

**Chapter 5 – Close enough, hurting badly.**

The restaurant was calm and smelled deliciously. It was an Italian restaurant, with a lot of projections sitting on their tables and talking. But most important, Cobb and Ariadne weren't being noticed.

Eames – the blondie – was sitting on the opposite table of Jeremy Carey-Lewis. He had a mischievous smile on his face. The mark was nervous, his eyes darting from one projection to another. The forger ordered one drink for the mark, putting his fake number under the liquor glass.

After the drink was delivered, Eames moved and passed slowly next to the Jeremy's side. The Forger knew how to make any man noticed him.

"Hello." his voice was smooth ad velvet, just like a woman's voice would be.

Jeremy cleared his throat, visibly choking on his own words. "Want to sit with me?"

Eames nodded. The mark was fast and liked her, things would have to be done faster. He was expecting things to be a bit more slow, with the flirting part. Anyway, it was their problem. The Englishman bit his low lip, a sign to Cobb start searching through rooms. The Extraction had began now. The clock was ticking, and time was something essential.

Dom grabbed Ariadne's arm gently and pulled her with him. But as soon as they entered the corridor, they noticed that there were a lot more projections then they expected. Someone was throwing a party in the safe's room.

It was a light place, with some paintings and Ariadne thought that nobody would enter there and simply throw a party. But again, the mark's subconscious was trained, and perhaps this was his defence. Cobb sighed heavily. They needed to do this job fast, Arthur was having a hard time on the first layer and Jeremy was faster than expected with the blond bombshell. And then, someone touched Ariadne's hand and whispered in her ears:

"Want to dance with me, beautiful lady?" it was a projection.

"She's with me, sir" Cobb said darkly. This moment every noise stopped and they starred at them. "But I won't mind." he added rapidly, letting her go with one worried look in her eyes.

"_Shit!" _The Architect thought. This wasn't supposed to happen. Now Cobb would have to do it alone, while she danced with a gruesome projection. She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but she couldn't. So, she kept moving, as the projections continued doing what they were, before being interrupted.

The music was soft, and the new couple started waltzing around. Her partner was gazing at her eyes. He wasn't handsome, but wasn't pretty too. But then, when she payed attention, she noticed that his eyes were the exactly same colour as Arthur's, brownish eyes, always so clear and thoughtful. Her thoughts flowed to him. How he was doing above them? But more important, _was he okay?_

* * *

The Point Man loaded his gun and waited for they to come. He checked his watch, he still had to survive for eight minutes, that were exactly forty minutes on the second layer, thanks to Yusuf, which his new compound made the dream world faster than it already was. And then he heard a bang on the door.

They were trying to knock it down.

He shot blindly through the closed door, hoping that he would kill some projections. Silence. He couldn't do it, but he had to make sure that he had killed every of them, so he opened the door a little. And then, one bullet hit the wall just above his head.

"Crap!" he muttered. He was screwed.

More five men were trying to open the door, while Arthur fought against it. But they were to many and too strong, so the door slammed open and the bullet ballet started. The Point Man, not only had to cover his back, but his asleep friend's as well. This wasn't his first time doing it, but this was his first time when the projections were heavily armed.

The projections were hiding behind the chairs, making his job more difficult. But he could do it. He had too. Arthur shot two projections in their chest, but three were still alive. Somebody shot right into his left arm, and he groaned in pain. With a panic urge, he shot one projection that was just above Ariadne sleep form, with a gun pressed in her temples. He didn't miss. Two lefts and nobody else was coming. He locked the door.

From his peripheral vision, he saw a tiny motion on his left side and he shot without hesitating. The projection dropped dead on the floor. Arthur's arm was bleeding hard, running down through his shirt and making his grip on the gun slippery. Arthur pressed his other hand on his wound – knowing that this was just a distraction for the projection - and then the man fell into the trap.

The Point Man knocked the man out, leaving a pool of blood around him.

He still had five minutes. Arthur looked at his blood-covered shirt, his arm was painful, pounding like another heart. He gasped for air. It wasn't a good idea to look at it after all. He grabbed his load dice, feeling the weird weight, and knowing that this was a dream. That the pain was only in his mind.

A sundelly sound caught his attention, their Architect chocked and opened her mouth to scream. Without thinking, Arthur put his hand in her mouth, preventing her to scream. _"Was she awake?"_he thought. But he looked at her eyes and they were closed. Her eyelashes were wet, and a fat tear was falling down her cheek. He wiped it and looked around. Nobody else was moving.

Inside his mind a bunch of questions where being asked, but he ignored them. Gingerly, Arthur took his hand from her mouth, making sure that she wasn't going to scream. And then he saw something. A splotched red form. It wasn't paint, it was blood.

The Point Man was sure that he didn't shot her and nobody else did. So what the _fuck _was that? She couldn't be shot in the second layer and bleed in the first one, he was sure about that. Then, what happened?

Arthur lifted her blouse only a little, to see why she was bleeding. And saw a deep cut in her abdomen, near her navel. He placed her blouse where it was and pressed his hand on her freshly made cut, forgetting his wounded arm. He didn't care, he just wanted to save her.

* * *

Cobb was searching through paintings and projections, to find the damn safe. He had to pretend to talk to several projections to not seem suspicious and that had taken a lot of time. Now he was in his third painting and hadn't found a clue to where the safe should be. It had to be inside of one of the paintings. Ariadne had showed to Earnes and him, that it would be inside of one of them, one paint where things would be a little odd.

When he was examining his fourth painting he heard a shriek. A female shriek. He looked around, only to find their Architect curled like a ball and pressing her hand on her abdomen. The projections where starring at him. He run toward her, and lifted her, like a rag doll. Her eyes where shinning with unshed tears.

Right when he was leaving the room, Eames appeared, he wasn't the blondie anymore.

"Why are you here?" Cobb said.

"Jeremy noticed that something was wrong. Not in the restaurant, of course. But the projections." he looked down at Ariadne, her hands were red. "Christ! What happened? No matter. Have you found it yet?"

Dom shook his head. The Architect moaned and put her feet down. The projections were coming closer.

"Let's go, Cobb. We have to find his stupid secret." she gasped. Her words were full of pain.

"No, Ariadne. You stay here." he was severe.

"I'll go. We don't have much time and you need help. From the two of us." she looked at Eames, who had a concerned expression on his face. Cobb didn't argued anymore. He needed help, and there wasn't much time left, everything she said was true. But still...

"I'm fine." she muttered the unasked question. "I can handle this."

The two men nodded and they went searching again. The three of them had a gun loaded and ready to use. And now all of the projections were armed. They stared at them, hatred written on their faces.

Eames shot two of them, while Cobb run with Ariadne to their next painting. The safe wasn't there either. The Architect shot a projection that was dangerously close to Eames. Her body was weak. She could feel the amount of blood that was flowing through whatever-the-hell she had.. She wasn't shot. The awful pain had started before the projections stopped. She tried to think but her mind only had space for the pain.

Cobb was runing to fast, she wasn't able to keep up. She checked her watch, they only had a few more minutes. But the music hasn't started. Why it hasn't started? _"Something must have gone wrong." _she thought. Was Yusuf having some troubles in the real world? She looked around, the dream was still normal. "_How were they going to wake up?" _She knew that this Extraction didn't have the risk to go to Limbo, but killing yourself was a terrifying idea.

"Cobb!" she tried to yell, but her voice was weak. "Cobb!"

The Forger, pushed away the projections and ran in her direction. He was close enough to hear her.

"Look at that! This painting wasn't there before!"

Eames looked at the direction that she pointed. The painting was of a man with money falling around him, he also had a tiny paper in his hand.

"Cobb! Look at that painting" his voice was loud and clear. He was staying with Ariadne. There was a pool of blood around her. "Jesus, darling! What the _hell _happened?"

But before she could answer an angry voice filled the space.

"What are you doing here?" the mark yelled, pointing at Cobb. "Who are you?"

The Extractor didn't even look to see who was that, he knew that that was where the safe was. He put the painting down and looked carefully at it. That tiny paper was something very odd. He pressed his hand on the painting's surface and he felt his fingers touching the smooth paper. That was the secret.

Cobb took the paper and felt a chilling metal pressed against his skull.

Jeremy had a gun right in the center of Cobb's head. The Extractor saw, from his peripheral vision, that Ariadne and Eames were also in the same position that he was.

"Drop the gun and give it to me." the mark ordered. "Or I will kill you."

There wasn't any music, but he knew that their time was almost over. Cobb nodded and while he was turning around to face Jeremy he saw the word that he needed. Extortion. He spinned and shot the mark's chest. Everything trembled.

The dream was collapsing.

Before he could get out of there, he looked down at his paper and quickly read some words. 15,000 dollars, Willian Keeling, torture and violence, coma.

He looked around and saw that Eames and Ariadne were already gone; he closed his eyes and waited.

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	6. Chapter 6

Hello!

**I have some bad news. But, first of all, I'd like to thank you all for your reviews/story alert/favorite story. That's really awesome.**

**Ok. Now the bad news.**

**I think that this chapter sucked. But I had to post it, because I already know how the next one is going to be. I'm sorry that this one isn't good enough.**

**The other thing is that I THINK that it won't be possible for me to post new chapters till January 6. I'm so sorry. I'm devastated. But I'm going to travel (here in Brazil I'm in summer holidays). But I promise that I'll try. First I have to convince my parents to let me take the computer with me. But, anyway, I'll try. I promise.**

**If I don't see you tomorrow: HAPPY NEW YEAR! It was lovely to write for you, and till 2011!**

**PS: On the previous chapter I wrote that Eames was the blond bombshell, so when I say he, I mean she.**

**Enjoy!**

**Love,**

**Isadora**

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**Chapter 6 – Idiot**

Arthur woke up in the massage room before the others. During the first layer, he pulled Eames, Ariadne and Cobb from their chair, snapping them out of the second layer. Eames was the first one to woke up, followed by Ariadne and Cobb. But the mark, was already awake, and the Point Man hadn't even touched him. "_Something must have gone wrong_."he thought, only seconds before pulling the trigger.

He killed himself. They only had seconds left anyway, before the sedative ran out.

As soon as he opened his eyes in the real world, he realized that it was too quiet. He moved from his massage bed and looked at Yusuf. The Chemist was _asleep? _How could he sleep during an Extraction? But, before he could slap Yusuf on the face he noticed two things: a white syringe and a blood-soaked knife.

Eames woke up. The Forger moved and put more minutes in the mark's PASIV, Jeremy had to stay sleeping for a little while.

"What was that?" the Forger snapped.

But Arthur was staring at Ariadne and the knife. His brain connected everything, Ariadne bleeding for apparently no reason, Yusuf asleep, the lack of music. He only couldn't figure out who did that. Just after he thought that, their Architect was awake. Her face was pure pain.

She gasped for air, feeling the blood around her, so she wasn't bleeding just during the dream. Ariadne grasped her totem and put it on the table, knocking it down. She was in the real world and she was hurt. Her eyes darted to Eames and Arthur, with frozen disbelief.

Cobb opened his eyes, with a smirk on his face. He had the Extraction. But before he could say anything he saw the blood, and his smile faded.

"Shit!" he muttered under his breath. "C'mon we have to get out of here!" he started to close the PASIV. The mark didn't wake up. Thank God for that, they didn't need more problem.

The Point Man lifted Ariadne, putting one arm under her leg and supporting her upper body with the other one, she didn't protest, she was too weak to talk. While Eames stood Yusuf up and supported his weight with his shoulder. Dom took the knife and the syringe, the blood would have to be cleaned by the real masseuse. They had already bribed her, anyway.

When the team was leaving the room, a voice whispered quietly:

"Have you got it?" Olivia asked. She had a puzzled expression.

"Yes. We did." Cobb voice was somber and hard. He didn't understand why Ariadne was bleeding, but this had something to do with theirs employer.

Olivia nodded and stepped back in her room, leaving space to the team go through. Before they left, Cobb spoke with her husband's masseuse, pointing the room and explaining briefly something. When they left, nobody looked back.

* * *

Derek Carey-Lewis was inside a cab, going home. He passed the streets without seeing, the marvelous Paris architecture was now a completely blank for him. He couldn't belief what he had heard.

Everything changed yesterday. He was in his bedroom, reading some book when he heard the doorbell ring. It probably was the mail. But then he heard a male voice, greeting his mum. At first, he thought that it was just a random friend that she invited for tea, but as soon as they entered the house, the sound had stopped.

Derek knew that they have gone to his mother's private room, otherwise he would still hear them. _"They are lovers!"_he thought surprised. He always knew that his parents marriage wasn't the best one, but it never occurred to him that they would cheat.

So, gingerly, he went downstairs and stood closely to the door, with his ear pressed against the hard wooden door. He heard a few words, but they were already enough.

"Why do you want this?" a male voice said.

"It's because my husband is going to give his part of the company to our son, and I don't want this." his mother said. "I want it all to myself."

"Right. Your husband doesn't have a glue?"

"No."

"We are doing this tomorrow, when he has a massage appointment." the man muttered. "It's an easy Extraction."

Then the voices trailed off. He couldn't hear anymore, his head was buzzing, thoughts crashing against each other. They weren't lovers. They were employers. His mum had hired some guy to do an Extraction in his father, whatever that means.

Derek ran to his room, locking the door. He needed to prevent this. He needed to know what was an Extraction. And his mum – his own blood, for God's sake – was betraying him. She knew how much he wanted his part of Carey-Lewises Robotic company.

Till afternoon he had a bunch of fresh information. He knew what was an Extration, and who did it best. His source had said that the best team was there, in Paris. Derek only had to link those information, and once linked they matched perfectly.

A bus passed noisily in front of the cab, making the mark's son realizes that they were stuck in the middle of Paris. "_Stupid Parisian traffic"_ he thought. But near them a group of man passed carrying a small woman, who had her shirt tinted with red, and a man being supported by another one.

The events that happened minutes earlier crossed his mind.

There he was, hidden in a room, waiting for that same group to enter his father's massage room. He already had a plan in his mind. He would get in there and demand they to stop, and if they refuse to do it, he would threaten one of them with his brand new knife. But he didn't know that they would be fasten asleep when he got in, his source said that they would have a time to set everything, and then they would be asleep. However, he knew that there would be a man awake, that was why he brought a sedative with him.

Once he was in, he saw the man sitting in his chair, checking if everything was alright. But that man didn't noticed him. Derek got closer and pressed the syringe against his brownish skin. The man closed his eyes heavily and stood motionless on the chair.

There were so many bodies lying on their beds that he didn't know what to do. But he needed to stop this. The mark's son was deciding which one he would wake up, slapping it, but then he realized that it would only make things worst, because whoever he woke up would beat the crap out of him anyway.

So, with a hatred look, he stabbed the woman lying on the floor. He didn't mean to kill her, but to stop the Extraction, he couldn't think of other way to do it. And he saw that he had pushed the knife too deep, because there was a huge amount of blood flowing through the cut.

Derek left the room with a rush, hoping that he stopped them in the middle of the procedure.

* * *

"We've got to take her to the hospital" Arthur snarled to Cobb. He couldn't loose her, he wouldn't afford it.

They entered Dom's car and rushed to the closest hospital. Yusuf was slowly opening his eyes and babbling something that nobody understood. While Arthur kept pressing Ariadne's cut and holding tight her small hand. She was so pale. It was sickening to see it. You could see her sparkle fading.

"I'm scared, Arthur" she murmured, her voice trembling and almost inaudible.

"Don't be." he soothed her, making small circles on the back of her hand. "Everything is going to be fine."

"But it hurts." her eyes were full of tears. Some were falling down over her pale cheeks, making it glimmer in a disturbing way.

The Point Man wiped them away with his thumb, and pressed his head in her hair, kissing it slightly. He knew how much it hurt, in the Real and Dream world. "I know." he whispered finally.

Eames had a worried look, but his eyes were full of anger. He was mad. He was lunging for revenge, he wanted to know who were idiotic enough to do that. To Ariadne and Yusuf. His hands were closed into a fist.

The car turned left and they faced a gigantic hospital. Once it has stopped, Arthur ran through its double doors, not bothering to pay attention to the people that were staring at him and Ariadne. He found a doctor and told a lie about what happened, giving fake names to them all.

Dr. Thompson took Ariadne from him and led him to a waiting room, while two nurses took the Architect to a surgical room. She was definitely going to need a lot of stitches.

After one hour the entire team was with him, waiting for some news about Ms. Amanda Valence. They weren't talking. All of them were asking themselves what had happened. Yusuf was the worst of them. He kept apologising when he was clearly a victim.

Then, the doctor appeared. He had a smile on his face, that calmed everybody. She was going to be fine. And they could already see her, but not upset her, of course. Yusuf and Earnes eagerly entered her room, but Cobb grabbed Arthur's arm.

"I need you a favor." he said, his voice calm and clear. When Arthur nodded he continued. "You've got to find something about Willian Keeling. I think that our mark had something to do with him, and it wasn't good stuff. I... I could only read his name and other things, the time was over after that."

"Now? I have to see Ariadne!" the Point Man's voice was hysterical. He was clearly worried about her. Cobb wondered if Arthur felt something for her, but he pushed it away. Now wasn't the time.

"Yes. Arthur. I'm really sorry. But we have do deliver this the soonest possible."

The Point Man grumbled something but nodded.

"Just... Just tell her that I'll be right back." his eyes were pleading. And before he left he looked at Ariadne's room with a sad look. He wanted to see her so badly. To assure himself that she was really going to be fine. But he couldn't he had to do his job.

Dom entered the Architect's room, thinking if his Point Man had finally let someone enters his heart, if Ariadne was the one that was truly going to know who the Point Man really was.

"Where's Arthur?" her voice had a hint of pain, but he knew that it wasn't because of her cut, but because that Arthur wasn't there. Cobb sundelly knew that she cared for Arthur, despite her angry words two weeks ago.

"He'll be right back" he smiled.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Hello!**

**It's been some time since I saw you, guys! I've been traveling as I told you before, but now, I'm able to write this chapter.**

**Unfortunately, I have to travel tomorrow again. Now it's till January 16th. I'm so sorry. **

**Hope you like this one. It's a little short and dull. But I swear that the next one is going to happen 'the talk' between A/A. YAY! Finally.**

**Oh, thank you for your reviews/story alerts/favourite story. It's great!**

**Tell me if you like it!**

**Love,**

**Isadora**

**

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**Chapter 7 – Perception**

Arthur searched every part of Jeremy's life. Every tiny blank hole that was in it. He wanted – he needed – o find out who was Willian Keeling and what the mark did to him. No matter his ways, he had to find that out.

The Point Man looked over the massive pile of paper that he gattered. The answer was somewhere there. He telephoned to several people, who, at least once, had had some kind of contact to Jeremy Carey-Lewis, they knew nothing. But, they also let some rumor spread through their talking. And sometimes, rumours are more than just lies.

He read one sheet where there was a name on it. Rupert Jay. He dialed the number.

"Hello?" a rusky voice said. The guy was probably sleeping.

"Mr. Jay? I'm calling about Mr. Keeling..."

The man cleared his throat. "Yes? Who is it?"

"It's..." he looked at his coffee mug. He was tired, filed with caffeine and worried about Ariadne. His mind wasn't working correctly and he didn't remember a fake name. "It's Mr. Charles." he said at last.

"What about Mr. Keeling, sir?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me where he is..." Arthur was being careful. He didn't want to say anything wrong and get Rupert hanging him up.

"Well, I'm afraid that he is in coma. But, why are you calling?"

"It's because Mr. Carey-Lewis asked about him a while ago."

The telephone went dead. _"Shit!"_ Arthur thought.

This was heavy stuff and he was clueless. He only knew that this Willian was now in coma. Now, he started to read the pile of papers, searching for a hospital where this coma-guy could be.

After three hours of restless reading he found a hole. A discreet place in the woods. It was a little house, where the mark and more than five men had passed two nights there. The place was now deserted.

He looked through an invoice which had a number of suspicious things. A rope, several plastic bags and a metal bucket.

His phone rang. Who was that?

"Hello?"

"Mr. Charles?"

That man was calling _him_? He had hang him up!

"Yes, Mr. Jay. Something wrong?" his voice was innocent, as if he didn't suspected anything.

"No. I mean, Mr. Carey-Lewis didn't know that Willian was in coma?"

"He did. He was just wondering what you knew about the case." he lied smoothly.

"Just the ordinary." Rupert's voice was trembling.

"Are you sure about that? He asked very specifically that I should call you and listen to your part of the story. You probably know how neat he likes everything."

The man on the other side of the line swallowed hard. "I know that Willian Keeling was tortured and Carey-Lewis himself drowned him. He was a smart kid, I've been told, but he was owing 15,000 dollars to Jeremy. He swore that he was going to pay, but... Mr. Carey-Lewis was pissed. They've told me that Willian Keeling was some drug dealer or something like that, and that Mr. Carey-Lewis was his way of not getting caught by cops."

"That's all that you know?"

"Well, this patient is in coma for one year. His wife is somewhere in the world. But, before she left him, she told me that before he turned here, he was off to some house in the woods. But nobody ever mentioned that to me. I guess that there is wh..."

"We're not paying your guess."Arthur cut him off. "Remember that."

"All right."he waited for the Point Man to say something. "Is that all?"

"No. What are you going to tell if somebody asks about Willian?" he needed to know the entire lie.

"That he is in coma by drugs. And that he doesn't know any Jeremy Carey-Lewis, of course. And if they start acting suspiciously, I shall call Mr. Carey-Lewis."

"No. Call me instead. Jeremy wanted me to change."he bit his tongue. He was sorry for Rupert, he was clearly a good man, but now deceived.

"Sounds good to me, sir."

"Have a good day, Rupert. And good luck."

The Point Man closed the sleek phone and took off the chip. He broke it in four pieces and threw it in the a new one in his phone and turn it on. His job was done. Now he could finally see their Architect.

No. He had to give this information to Cobb first. With a sigh he dialed Cobb's number. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Dom knocked Olivia's door. He was late, but Arthur had to do more researches about Willian Keeling and then he could say everything to him. He had the Extraction, at least. Even after those complications. His hands trembled when he thought about poor Ariadne lying on that pool of blood.

"Hello." it was a man voice who said that. Cobb looked up, to find a dark-haired man staring at him with his piercing green eyes.

"Er, good evening." who was that guy? "Is Olivia here?"

"Yes. Yes, she is." he bit his lips, fighting a smile. "I think that we've never been introduced before. I'm Derek Carey-Lewis."

"Pleased to meet you. Dominic Cobb." Dom put a fake smirk on his face. Something was odd about Olivia's son, but he didn't know what.

Derek, on the other hand, thought that this meeting was extremely fun. He, the guy who stabbed that girl preventing the Extraction - it was what he thought -, standing right in front of the man who knew nothing about that.

"I'll tell my mum that you are here. Come inside if you wish." and then he left the Extractor. Not looking back, but trying very hard not to laugh.

Olivia appeared only moments later, with a bright smirk on her face. She was radiant, only a few meters of the secret that would let her have the whole company for herself.

"Let's go to my office, Mr. Cobb." she lead the way. "I hope it's good news."

He could her the smile on her voice. But Dom wasn't happy. Not now. A person in his team was injured and nobody knew why or who did that.

"I've got the Extraction." he said, closing the door. "Here." he took the file from his jacket and put it on the table.

"Thank you." she said looking over the words, she couldn't believe that it was now in her hands. She didn't care what her husband had done. Now, Carey-Lewises Robotic company was hers. Finally.

After a minute or so, she let out her breath.

"The payment will be in your accounts today." Cobb's expression was blank. Olivia hadn't mention or even asked about what had happened to them. She didn't care about them, even if somebody was bleeding in front of her yesterday.

"I think that's all." she continued.

The Extractor nodded and left her, passing through the furniture without even looking at it twice. His mind was racing.

"Bye, Mr. Cobb." Derek said. He had a sarcastic tone in his voice.

When Cobb looked back, after he passed the gate, he saw the green sparkle from Olivia's son. His skin prickled. Something was very odd.

* * *

Ariadne was still awake, he could see her fiddling with the polar-white blanket. He knocked the door softly.

"Hello." Arthur said. His voice calm and composed.

"Why did you take so long?"

"May I come in?" his mouth turned up in a smile. He liked the way that she was worried about him. It was... something new.

Ariadne waved something and nodded, her brows frowned with preoccupation. It was almost midnight and it was only now that Arthur appeared. She knew that he was searching more about the secret, but she didn't even know what the Extraction was about.

"The Extraction've been delivered." The Point Man finally said, sound more formal than he wanted. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." her fingers trembled a little. She was lying.

"Ariadne. Please, don't joke."

"I'm... trying to be fine." her eyes were full of tears. She didn't want to cry, but it was hurting. The painkiller wasn't working and the nurses wouldn't give her more. Her lips trembled and a salty tear slipped.

Arthur wiped it and put a hand behind her head, leaning her closer to his chest. He felt sorry for her. He wanted to protect her. This thought kept coming over and over in his head. Why he felt this way towards her?

He stroke her hair slightly, feeling the way her head pressed against his chest, and letting her cry. Deep inside his chest he felt a heat flow through his body. He liked it.

* * *

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**xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello!**

**I'm sorry for the late. I've been traveling as I already said before. And it was SO FUN! I'm thinking about putting some of the landscapes I saw in the history. We'll see...**

**Anyway, I want to thank you for the reviews/story alerts/favourite story! That's what keep me writing.**

**This chapter is more talking. And the thin line between A/A. Arthur is probably bipolar. HAHAHA. Just kidding. **

**Enjoy!**

**Please say what you think about this chapter. Good or bad thoughts are more than welcome!**

**Love, **

**Isadora**

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Hard to do, worst to admit**

"I'm sorry. I've ruined your shirt." Ariadne sobbed, leaning back to her bed. Her eyes were red after all that crying. Her tears never stopped flowing, like a river after months of dry weather. Arthur lifted her chin and gazed directly at her deep brown eyes.

"That's alright. Now tell me, are you really in pain?"

"No. I mean, it hurts, but it's not that bad. I don't even know why I was crying about." she lied. She knew very well why she was crying. She was worried about him. She... was afraid that something bad had happened to him.

They didn't talk for a while. She was trying to act normally, but she couldn't, something was bothering the back of her mind.

"How did you get in here?"

Arthur chuckled. "I've paid some quantity to the nurse. She's not supposed to bother us for the time being." his eyes were amused.

"Yeah. I should've guessed that was something like that..." there was a faint smile on his face.

"Do you want to know about the Extraction?" his voice was concerned.

She nodded, biting her lower lip. For what she knew, it wasn't good stuff. Arthur took too long to see her, which only meant that it was dangerous and very well hidden. Something that was nearly impossible to find, perhaps because of its contents.

"Well..." he was trying to make his voice light. "It's bad thing, Ariadne. He put a guy – Willian Keeling – in coma."

When he said that name she froze. Her cheeks drained colour and her eyes went blank. The Architect cleared her throat with some effort and wet her lips. "_He can't know anything" _she thought. She searched for words, but it was as if they were escaping from her.

"Well...? Just that?" she managed at least. Arthur's glare was doubtfully and puzzled. He was trying scrutinizing her face. She set a serious expression.

"Apparently, he was supposed to give 15,000 dollars to our mark, but he couldn't manage at that time." he gazed directly at her, studying her. "And Jeremy Carey-Lewis couldn't wait. So, he dragged him to a little house in the middle of the woods and tortured him."

Ariadne tried very hard to not picture Willian suffering. She concentrated in not showing any emotion, being completely detached to the situation. Arthur couldn't discover anything, not now.

"And now he is in a coma." she finished. "Poor guy." she said eyeing the Point Man innocently. "We have it, at least."

"Yes."

"I..." he continued. "I'm sorry, Ariadne. You wasn't supposed to get hurt."

"No. Don't start. It wasn't your fault. It was nobody fault." she was pleased that the subject had changed. The images of Willian being in pain were becoming visible, too real. But that statement made her mad at Arthur. How he could think that it was his fault? "It was... a risk, that everybody was taking. It could happen to any of us."

"We'll find who did that." he promised, taking her hand into his and pressing it slightly.

She looked at their hands and smiled secretly. His hands were warm against her chilled skin, and they were bigger than hers, making she feel protected, even when she weren't. She could feel something inside of her burning.

"Can you stay here?" she didn't want to be alone, after all. And Arthur would be more than welcome to be her company.

Arthur was caught unawares. _That _was a first. "Yes. I suppose I can."

"Good. It would be nice to talk to somebody, now that I can't sleep." soon after she said that she regreted. She hadn't told anybody that, especially now, after she being stabbed, she couldn't close her eyelids. She was tired, but she was more worried that somebody would attack her again.

"You can't sleep?" his voice was critical.

"No. I mean, I'm..."

"Ariadne, look at me." he rested his hand on her chin, leaving her hands empty and willing to grab something, somebody. "You have to rest. Nobody is getting in here." his words were flowing without stop. "You are safe here, all right?"

"I know, Arthur. But... what if I have nightmares and became frightened by reality? What if I start thinking that the Dream world is more peaceful than here?"

There. She said it out loud. These thoughts were tormenting her since she arrived at the hospital. She wasn't just worried. She was terrified. Terrified to loose the grasp on reality, terrified to become like Mal. To prefer the dream instead of reality. She would rather die than stay alone in Limbo, or whatever place she would be.

"You'll not have nightmares. And you won't loose the grasp on reality. You're stronger than that. And I'll make sure that you won't be like Mal." he knew that Cobb's dead wife was the cause of all this. "I care about you, Ariadne. More than..."

His phone rang.

It jolted them apart. Arthur was glad that it happened; he didn't know why he was saying all that things, it was true, but he couldn't say it out loud. Not to her. Now, he realized, that he felt something for her. Something that has been a long time since he felt this way again. The Point Man was afraid to admit what he truly felt for her.

"Hello?" his voice was composed.

"Arthur. I thought about what you said. And yes, we can stay here." Cobb murmured on the other side of the line.

"Thanks."

"How is she?" the Extractor was worried.

"Fine. Just a little tired." he wouldn't mention her fears. Now it was his, and only his, problems.

"Alright. Let her sleep and good night."

Arthur closed this phone and turned to Ariadne, his face blank and hard. He was already too exposed. She, on the other hand, was blushing slightly, like pink dust on her soft cheeks. Her hands were fingering with the blanket and her eyes were expecting his words. She wished that he would continue his phrase.

"We're staying here for a while." his voice was emotionless. "Until you get better and we find who did that." she was going to say something, but he continued, not looking at her. "I'll train you."

Ariadne nodded. She wasn't at all expecting that words. What he had said before was so sweet and different from his usual phrases, that startled her. And now, as soon as she was recovered, he would start training her. For combat, escaping or whoever knew what.

"Get some sleep, Ariadne."

"Yes, sir." the Architect said with some sarcasm. She was tired of being put off. But, what she didn't know was that her words, hurt him more than that day when she found out what he did, because now, it was his emotions that were on the table.

* * *

It was hard to keep up with the team. Cobb was showing her ways of defending herself when in a fight. But her mind was running toward Arthur, who was standing right next to her. She could feel his gaze upon her face, but she kept a straight face and tried to understand what Cobb was doing. The room where they were, was completely white, with no furniture. There wasn't a door or windows either. Just a blank and empty room, perfect for training lessons.

"Ariadne, do you understand me?"

"Yes." she left her reverie. It's been a week after she being stabbed and three days since she was in training. They had already gone into cold mountains, frozen lakes and the blinding sun desert. She was washed off, but had to keep up.

"Show me." Arthur interjected.

Before she could even think about an answer, she saw his hands closed into a fist and coming in her direction. Ariadne used her forearm to protect her face, and at the same time, tried to punch his stomach with her other hand.

The Point Man avoided it and moved to her left side, grabbing and locking her left arm. She urged to let it go, but he was strong. The Architect used her leg to kick his. She could see his amused eyes and a ghost of a smile creeping on his face. And in less than a second, she punched his right arm.

"I'm sorry." she murmured.

But Arthur was already knocking her down. She fell heavily on the ground. He was standing up and looking at her, with his hands already in a fist. Without thinking, Ariadne grabbed her newly-acquired gun and pointed at his head. Check-mate.

"Shoot me."

"I can't." she sighed. "Sorry."

"Don't worry. You did well." Cobb intervened, helping Ariadne to get on her feet. "But, think that killing somebody during a dream, can be the best thing you could do to them."

"Yes. Sometimes you are in great pain and this is like a painkiller." Arthur said.

"Let me try something." the Extractor pulled a knife and cut his right wrist, letting the blood flow. His face was anguished and contorted with pain. "Now, try again."

Ariadne watched the blood dripping on the floor, staining the polar-white ground. Her stomach churned. She could see Cobb's blue eyes pleading for her to kill him. It was enough. She shot right through his skull, and he was free.

Her hands went numb and the gun fell on the blood pool. Arthur hold her arms and pressed his head into her hair. She was in shock. He started making small circles in the back of her wrists and sighed heavily. He knew that it was heartless but it was necessary. So he pick up her gun and give it to her.

"Shoot me."

Ariadne looked terrified at him. Her hands were red with the blood in the gun. He could see that she was trying very hard not to throw it away and start crying. He knew that he what he was asking was killing something inside her. And yet, he had to know if she was capable of doing such a thing.

"No. I can't." her voice faltered on the last word.

"Shoot. Me." he pressed, while grabbing his own gun and pressing it against her small head. "Or I will."

There was no need to say that he meant her. He was going to kill her. But she didn't mind, she knew that it was only a stupid dream. However, this thought scared her more than anything: he could kill her. Without thinking twice about it.

"I can't." she droped her gun, ready to die.

Arthur smiled and let his gun fall. He was glad that she couldn't kill him.

He kissed softly her cheek, feeling the way his mouth touched her fair skin. And then the dream collapsed.

* * *

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**xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello!**

**There's been some time since I saw you!**

**Thanks to the reviews/story alert/favourite story. It's great!**

**But, I want to make a deal with you... If I get more reviews, the chapter will come faster. Because, it's the reviews that keep me writing.**

**Thanks for everything, though.**

**Oh, yes! This chapter was weird to write. The Derek part, I mean. Hope you like it!**

**Enjoy!**

**Love,**

**Isadora**

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Two calls**

Eames was on the phone when Cobb woke up from the dream. The soft memory of being in pain vanished from his mind. He had to do it, and the Architect was pretty fast, not letting he feel the burning ache rise to his entire arm. The Extractor looked at them, Ariadne and Arthur would be down in the Dream for a few more minutes. He wondered what they would be doing at this moment...

A low laugh got his attention. The Forger was amused. He had a sly smile on his face while talking to whoever was on the line. Cobb only discerned a few "yes" and "oh, good". It was a relief to know that he wasn't that stressed out about who did that to their Architect. He was, at first, but now he was happy that she was fine. And Dom knew that Eames also saw something different lingering between Arthur and Ariadne from time to time.

The Englishman closed his phone and went to the sand-haired man direction.

"We have a party to attend."

"What?"

"Olivia called. She'll send the invitations." he sat, making himself comfortable, besides the two bodies still dreaming. "Having the time of their lifes, aren't they?"

"I hope so." a small grin crossed Arthur's features.

"Probably." the Point Man said, the moment he opened his eyes. He helped Ariadne with the needles, she had a confused – yet delighted – expression.

"Don't make any plans for friday." Eames said, eyeing the Architect with an suspicious frown. "What you two were doing? I guess it was something... naughty!"

"Nothing of your concern." Arthur's voice was annoyed.

"Why friday?" the petit woman asked.

"It _was_ something dirty." the Forger muttered before changing the subject. "We have a party. Olivia called. She'll send us the shining cards."

"Did she say why?"

"No. She'll send a note with it, I'm sure." Eames shrugged. This didn't matter. They had a party to go, which means drinks and women.

Arthur left them and went to his place in the warehouse. He was still worried that a psychopath ran through Parisian streets trying to stab somebody. They had searched and nothing came out. Just the empty, soundless whisper of a freak, a non-named freak. He sighed. At least Ariadne was alright now.

In this last training dream, was the first time they had talked after his words in the hospital. He was afraid that she would bring the subject up. But now, he realized that the only time that they really talked was when they were in a dream. Which gave a surrealist sight to whatever relationship they had. If they had something. He was unwilling to agree to that.

"Cobb." the Point Man called, waving his hand at him. "Did you find something weird at Olivia's house?" he said, after Dom was at his side.

"No. Not at her house. But, now that you've said, I saw somebody very odd." he organized his thoughts, remembering everything from the night that he had given the news to theirs employer. "Her son had ludicrous expression. As if he was trying not to laugh. But, what disturbed me the most was his eyes."

"Hmm."

"He had Mal's eyes. I guess that was why I felt something oozing from him. You know, when Mal was still alive."

Arthur nodded. Cobb was still very attached to his dead wife, he couldn't blame him, she was lovely, and her eyes were very intriguing. Derek Carey-Lewis was a typicall wealthy son, very non-worried about their parents life, except for the money. Nothing to worry about, but still...

Eames was left alone with the Architect. She was organizing the PASIV, when she heard his breath in her ear.

"Now darling, tell me what you were doing."

"Only training, Eames."

"What a training that must have been! Tell me the truth or I'll think worse of it." he said, playfully.

"I shot him."

"Ariadne! I didn't think that you'd be such a psychopath to be pleased that you'd killed somebody." she rolled her eyes. He was pulling her leg and she knew it. Telling more would only make the situation worst for her and Arthur. "He kiss you, didn't he, darling?" he said after a moment.

She had to control the urge to touch her cheek. That tiny moment when his lips met her skin, she felt a warm wave in her face. As if a billion of needles were pressed on her flesh, where she couldn't feel the pain, only the warmth of it.

"No. We didn't."

"There is a _we_?" he chuckled, a rusky sound. "He is faster than I thought!"

"No! There is no 'we'. And there was no kiss. Just... a training lesson." she almost yelled, mostly trying to states that for herself. Why she said 'we'?

"If you say so."

The Forger left the room with a mischievous smile.

* * *

He was drinking his tea when something caught his attention. It was the daily newspaper, laying on the polished center table of the living room.

Derek left the cup and went to pick it up. The unpleasant smell of it filled his mind, there was a few drops of coffee on it, making it appears like a burned creamy paper. _"Family greed: wife gets the company"_ was the major headline. Black tint printed hard on the paper.

It was like a bright light shining in a dark room. He started reading, already knowing what he would see. His mother's words were quoted, terrifying phrases: "My husband didn't think that my beloved son would be the right one to deal with the Carey-Lewises Robotic company." and "I always thought that he could do it, but his father saw other things."

"_This couldn't be true!" _he thought. Derek saw Cobb at his door, without a satisfying expression. He couldn't be delivering a pleasant new. He knew that the Extractor hadn't finished the Extraction. He stabbed that girl, for God's sake! There was no way that they have found out his dad's worst secrets.

But yet, they have. And now, Derek didn't have his part of the company. He was... lost. His mother wanted him to have nothing, she wanted the company for herself. His brain was covered with anger. He, Derek Carey-Lewis, had failed. With his dad, with himself. And now, he would pay.

"_Not so fast."_ his mind interjected. He still had a chance to set everything right.

Nobody was at home, except for him and a couple of butlers. His eyes scanned the room, it was still afternoon, he could catch his source at work. But first, he had to organize his thoughts, make a plan. The perfect plan, flawless, spotless.

He ran, absently, his fingers through his dark hair. There wasn't much time. Derek went upstairs and locked his door. He grabbed a paper and started covering it with blue ink.

A plan was already taking shape in his mind.

* * *

"Hello." it was a hard voice.

"Who is it?" Cobb demanded.

"Don't you remember me, Mr. Cobb? What a shame!" he paused. "But I'll enlighten you. I'm the one who wasn't supposed to find out your dirty job."

"Derek." the Extractor said. He could feel the piercing green eyes watching him when he left Olivia's house. He was wrong, his eyes didn't remind him of Mal's. But his shade of Mal. A cold – yet electric – glare.

"Very nice. I can say that you are good with challenges." his tone made Dom's skin shiver; as if some disgusting insect was crawling in the inside of it.

"What do you want?"

"Just one thing. My challenge for you." he played with the words. "I suppose that you have already seen the papers... Would you like to guess what I want? "

Cobb didn't answer a thing. The words weren't getting any shape, there was a tremendous wall blocking his thought. The others were staring frantically at him, he was never that harsh while talking to the phone.

"No? What a bad player, Mr. Cobb." Derek chuckled. "Do put this on speaker. I want all your team to hear it." Cobb did what he was told, he didn't have any other choice. If he refused to do it, Derek would probably talk só loudly that it would deafen him.

"Hello, Cobb's team." the mark's son had a amused tone in his voice. A sick psychotic tone. "Can you hear me well?"

"Who are you?" Eames snapped.

"I guess you can. But, Mr. Cobb didn't tell you?" he sighed. "I'm Derek Carey-Lewis. You probably have my life history."

Ariadne stiffens with terror, muting a low shriek with her hand, while Arthur shifted uncomfortably at his chair. That man wasn't supposed to find anything out. "_What had gone wrong?"_ was what every single person in the empty warehouse was thinking.

* * *

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**xx**


	10. Chapter 10

This is not a chapter, it's just a note!

I want to apologise because I won't be able to update any chapters for the next two weeks or more.

That's because I received a review that opened my eyes. So, I'll rewrite the chapter that I've done so far.

The plot won't change, I'll only put more details, more description and so on.

I'm sorry again.

If you'd like to read the chapters again, please do. I'd be delighted.

Thanks for your time and patience.


End file.
